Hit Comics Vol 1 22
Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * three unnamed spies Other Characters: * Johnson * Smithers Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Writer2_1 = | Penciler2_1 = Al Bryant | Inker2_1 = Al Bryant | StoryTitle2 = Betty Bates: "Case of the Cat's Skeleton" | Synopsis2 = | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * > Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Writer3_1 = Klaus Nordling | Penciler3_1 = Klaus Nordling | Inker3_1 = Klaus Nordling | StoryTitle3 = Bob and Swab: "Peanuts and Spies" | Synopsis3 = | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * > Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Writer4_1 = Vernon Henkel | Penciler4_1 = Vernon Henkel | Inker4_1 = Vernon Henkel | StoryTitle4 = Comet Kelly : "War!" | Synopsis4 = Near Singapore, U.S.Army fighter pilot Comet Kelly, flying a U.S.Navy F4F Wildcat, shoots down Japanese planes until he runs out of ammo, then by mistake lands on a Japanese aircraft carrier. He eludes capture long enough to gain control of an antiaircraft cannon, and fires this into the flight deck a few times. Meanwhile an American surface force is approaching, with no air cover, easy prey for a combined surface + air attack. Kelly runs across the flight deck and commandeers a primitive-looking biplane, a torpedo bomber, and takes off, then circles back and attacks the carrier itself, managing to sink it with one torpedo. This levels the playing field, enabling the approaching U.S. cruisers to win the ensuing artillery duel. Kelly pancakes his stolen plane onto the water near one ship and gets taken aboard. We never discover how this Army pilot knew how to land on a carrier, or to single-handedly operate a torpedo bomber, or why he's flying an F4F Wildcat (a Navy fighter plane) at the beginning of this story.. | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Japanese Navy Other Characters: * Locations: * Waters around Singapore Items: * Vehicles: * F4F Wildcat fighter * Yokosuka B4Y torpedo bomber | Writer5_1 = Toni Blum | Penciler5_1 = Witmer Williams | Inker5_1 = Witmer Williams | StoryTitle5 = Red Bee: "The Silken Gang War" | Synopsis5 = A warehouse at the City Wharf is bombed, destroying a supply of valuable silk; Rick Raleigh is assigned to the case. In ordinary cities, there needs to be an arrested suspect before a prosecutor has a role to play, but apparently they do things differently in Superior City. While he's inspecting the bombed warehouse, a gunman shows up and shoots at him, just barely missing him; Rick jumps up and pursues this punk, pausing only long enough to change clothes. The Red Bee catches the gunman, recognizes him as "one of Casey's boys," and chokes some info out of him, then lets him go. There's trouble between two mobs, run by Franco and Casey, with one gang blowing up the other's stolen goods. Red Bee runs to one of the Franco operations, and bluffs his way in, then punches out the lookout at the door, encounters three more thugs, releases Michael the bee and starts fighting them, then is headkonked from behind with a blackjack by the gang's boss Franco. Franco ties the Bee's wrists and dumps him into the basement, unsupervised. Glass bottles are down there, t.R.B. wakes up and breaks one, and cuts his bonds, waits until it's quiet upstairs, sneaks back up, eavesdrops on the gang moving their stolen silk to a new location, finds a phone, and anonymously calls rival gang boss Casey, who apparently is now called "Clancy," tipping him off to an opportunity to re-steal the stolen silks that Franco now has. Clancey brings his gang to Franco's hideout; there's a gunfight followed by a fistfight, which lasts until only the two bosses are left standing, then the Red Bee steps in and punches them both out. He then returns to Rick Raleigh's office, sneaks in, changes clothes, and acts surprised to hear about all the excitement. | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Michael, the Red Bee's bee Antagonists: * Franco * Franco's thugs * Casey, or Clancy * Casey's thugs Other Characters: * unidentified young woman, delivering lines we usually hear from D.A. Hawkes Locations: * , | Writer6_1 = George Brenner | Penciler6_1 = George Brenner | Inker6_1 = George Brenner | StoryTitle6 = Ghost of Flanders: "Prisoner of Von Kimmel" | Synopsis6 = | Appearing6 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * > Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Writer7_1 = Jerry Iger | Penciler7_1 = Alex Blum | Inker7_1 = Alex Blum | StoryTitle7 = The Strange Twins: "Totoya Adventure" | Synopsis7 = | Appearing7 = Featured Characters: * * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * > Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Writer8_1 = Toni Blum | Penciler8_1 = Alex Koda | Inker8_1 = Alex Koda | StoryTitle8 = Captain Flagg: "The Coming of Captain Flagg" | Synopsis8 = Captain Flagg's USMC unit establishes a fortified oil and arms base on a Pacific island, protected by a electrical magno-field, despite an onslaught of Japanese forces. A German mole agent planted among Flagg's Marines tips off the enemy to the island's location, and the Japanese send a large number of carrier-based biplanes to attack it, but the paralyzing magno-field destroys most or all of them. The German spy makes a second attempt to shut down the defensive system, and is caught in the act by Captain Flagg, but kills himself to avoid interrogation. | Appearing8 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * U.S.Marines Antagonists: * Imperial Japanese armed forces * unnamed German spy Other Characters: * Locations: * unnamed island in Pacific Ocean Items: * electrical magno-field, repels aircraft and artillery Vehicles: * | Writer9_1 = Fred Guardineer | Penciler9_1 = Fred Guardineer | Inker9_1 = Fred Guardineer | StoryTitle9 = Swordfish: "The Swordfish Strikes" | Synopsis9 = Ensign Jack Smith, USN, develops an advanced, battery-powered, one-man, submersible warship, with a ram for a bow, and a retractable, movable, gun blister conning tower. He calls it "the Swordfish." He sails this thing to Japan, and waits for nightfall, then sneaks ashore with a tommy gun, and encounters a detail of soldiers, escorting American prisoners. He shoots all of the Japanese soldiers, then frees and arms the prisoners with captured weapons; they set out to find a boat, find a fishing boat, kill one guard, and put to sea. Jack returns to the Swordfish and follows the trawler out to sea then escorts it toward American territory. They're spotted by a Japanese patrol plane; Jack shoots it down, but it has already radioed the sighting, and soon a Japanese destroyer heaves into view. Jack submerges the Swordfish and uses passive SONAR to guide him towards the destroyer. He retracts the periscope, the gun blister, and the hydrovanes, essentially turning the vessel into a manned, nonexplosive torpedo, then he crashes it through the hull of the enemy warship, and out the other side. The destroyer sinks, and several survivors are rescued and captured by the trawler's new American crew. Several days later the trawler reaches an American naval unit; they look around to see that the one-man sub has vanished. | Appearing9 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Japanese military Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * The Swordfish | Writer10_1 = | Penciler10_1 = Arthur Peddy | Inker10_1 = Arthur Peddy | StoryTitle10 = Don Glory: "Bout With the Vichy French' | Synopsis10 = | Appearing10 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * > Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Notes = * The Red Bee gets whapped unconscious with a blackjack, for the {at least} 12th concussion of his career. ** D.A. Hawkes is absent from this episode. Rick gets his instructions and scoldings from some unidentified young woman. ** * This issue of Hit Comics also featured: ** : "Painless Dentist", by Jack Cole ** , by Arthur Beeman | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = * Hit Comics #22 entire issue online * Hit Comics #22 index entry }}